Pilot blamed in crash of VFR King Air in IMC

“Poor judgment” and “overconfidence” on the part of the pilot caused the January 14 accident of a King Air A90 near Lake Point, Utah, according to the NTSB’s final report. The airplane was in IMC and returning from a skydiving flight when it crashed, killing the pilot and all eight parachutists. The airplane had been stripped of all avionics except for one transceiver and a handheld GPS receiver. In previous flights, the pilot was able to navigate in deteriorating weather conditions by descending through poor weather until he could see the ground and then proceed to Tooele Airport using various landmarks. Witnesses described the weather conditions as a low ceiling with about a quarter-mile visibility in light snow, haze and fog.